Original Call Letters: WTRR

Originally Licensed: May 20, 1947 

Original City of License: Sanford 

Original Frequency: 1400 

Origin of Call Letters: 

Original Power: 1,000 watts

Original Location: 1650 Celery Ave.

Original Format: Big Bands

Network Affiliation(s):

History of WUEZ

Sanford Station Bought
Daytona Beach Morning Journal  
Dec 19, 1984 
SANFORD - Emmet Broadcasting of Florida acquired radio station WWJZ (1400 on the AM dial in Sanford on Nov 13, according to a recent announcement by the buyer The call letters of the station have been changed to WUEZ. said Grenville Emmet III. president of Emmet Broadcasting, which owns stations in Leesburg, Va, and Sanford, Maine Frank Sinatra. Patti Paige, The Ink Spots, Glen Miller, Neil Diamond, The Carpenters and Linda Ronstadt are among the artists the station will feature, said Emmet WUEZ is a 1,000-watt, 24-hour station that first went on the air in 1947 as WTRR, said Emmet 

Thanks to Bill Ray for this history of WUEZ.
"I was part of the team that was brought in to transform WWJZ to WUEZ in late 1984. The company that purchased the station was Emmet Broadcasting Co. of Florida. They had two other stations; in Leesburg, Virginia and Sanford, Maine. The owner was Grenville Emmet III and the station manager was Leigh Feldsteen. As I recall, WWJZ was doing a format called "carousel radio" where they played 15 minutes of country, 15 minutes of oldies, etc. every hour. The theory was if you didn't like the format, wait a few minutes. I seem to recall they sold the evenings to a guy that played all oldies and he did cruises with his listeners. We changed it to a Big Band/Standards format "WUEZ-Easy 14". That lasted about a year until the Emmett's decided to switch to a satellite music format. Jeremy House was sent down by the owners from Virginia to do news at WUEZ (Easy 14). He is still in broadcasting doing news on a religious/right leaning national broadcast company (whose name escapes me). Rick Padilla continued from the WWJZ format to the new format to do middays. I did mornings and commercial production. The owners were too cheap to buy carts for the music, every piece of music was put on 4 minute cassettes."

Sanford Radio Station Fetches $335,000
The Orlando Sentinel
Sep. 11, 1987  
Sanford radio station WUEZ-AM (1400) has been sold for nearly $335,000 to Walter J. Bowen, known in Central Florida for his production of a country-music TV program. WUEZ, formerly owned by Seminole-Orange Broadcasting Inc., is a 1,000-watt station that for the past 14 months has played adult-contemporary music through a syndicated programming service. Larry Hadley, president of Seminole-Orange, said the sale included WUEZ's 1,500 square foot building, 247 foot tower and five acres of land. The sale, which Bowen and Hadley completed late Wednesday, is subject to the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. Doyle Hadden, president of Hadden & Associates Inc. in Orlando and the broker involved in the deal, said the price paid for WUEZ is a reflection of the increasing value of broadcast properties in Central Florida. Orlando radio properties fetch premium prices because of the area's population growth, analysts say. Bowen's partners in the purchase are A.J. Stanton Jr., an Orlando lawyer who owns one TV station and a construction permit in Wyoming; and a Lakeland investor. Bowen said he will petition the FCC later to boost the power of the station, which now is heard in Seminole County and southern Volusia County. He said other changes are in store, though he would not elaborate beyond saying that he expects to increase the station's 12-person staff and to carry fewer syndicated shows. Bowen produces country-music broadcasts for the Nashville Network from the Cheyenne Saloon at Church Street Station, the entertainment complex in downtown Orlando. 

WUEZ Personalities

Bill Burgess-1984-Nights-Emmet Broadcasting Co. of Florida  In Memory

Stan Lee-1986-1986-News Director-Emmet Broadcasting Co. of Florida   Biography

John Barrett Biography

Al Burke-"Memory Lane Lunch", live from Fitzgerald's restaurant in Sanford from 11AM-1PM weekdays-Emmet Broadcasting Co. of Florida

Other Names In WUEZ History